In this week’s preview of Internet Retailing 2011, we look at what track three of the event has to offer. Track three looks at The Industry, and how retail is changing in the light of new technologies from rich media to mobile commerce.
The pace of technological advance in ecommerce means that new concepts are constantly moving from innovation to taken-for-granted. Just a few years ago, products could only be displayed in flat or zoomable images. Now they can be spun round, shown in action, or even projected onto our bodies, thanks to rich media, video and augmented reality.
At the same time, the channels through which those products are sold have evolved and today customers expect to be able to buy whenever and wherever suits them, thanks to the advent of mobile commerce.
In Track Three of Internet Retailing 2011 we’re considering the latest technologies and the direction of travel that they’re taking multichannel retailing in. From the way products are presented to the way payments can be taken, we’ll be looking at how the industry is involving, and asking where it is heading.
The track will start after the conference’s keynote speakers, so far confirmed as Mark Hodginson, digital and financial services director at Asda, and Gavin Sathianathan, head of commerce partnerships at Facebook, make their presentations from 9.30am.
Following their presentations, the conference divides into three tracks. Track Three, The Industry starts at 11.20am with a session on that buzzword of ecommerce today, mobile commerce. A panel that includes Thibault de Pompery, creative director at Groupe Casino’s innovation department in France, and is chaired by M-Retaiing editor Paul Skeldon, will be looking at how this area is developing, including the significance of near-field communication (NFC) and its ability to allow consumers to make payments, access transport systems, and collect loyalty points using only their smartphones.
After lunch, Nadine Sharara, head of ecommerce at Thomas Pink will unveil that retailer’s innovations in ecommerce – explaining how customers can now make sure they get the perfect fit from clothing bought online.
Dominic Smith, ebusiness development manager at JD Williams, then takes a look at how the retailer uses optimized product data at a granular level to drive marketing across online channels, and, importantly, what it has meant for sales.
Then Qusai Sarraf, chief executive of the IVIS Group and Jon Higgins, IT director at Tesco.com, team up for a session explaining how, over the course of the last 15 years, the supermarket has built its much praised market-leading ecommerce offer. Higgins will address the need to balance innovation with the daily trading pressures, while Sarraf will consider methods of building world-class multichannel systems.
Rowan Gormley, founder of Naked Wines is our final speaker in this track. He’ll be outlining how he has used the internet to build a completely different wine business, how technology has given him an advantage over the competition – and how his approach could be transferred to other retail sectors.
Next week, we’ll have the first of our interviews with Internet Retailing 2011 speakers. You can also find more information and register for a ticket, by clicking here.
